Mar 7, 2012

March 2012

March 2012

Hello All of you Luna/tics....

Sometimes I wish I wore a hat. You know - one of those Indiana Jones hats or the kind you see the Vietnamese farmers wearing.....I want this. For protection from the sun, and to make me feel 'cool' , and all this because I have this great HAT on. Nice Hat
But....
I have a fat head. Big Head/Little Hat
Hats look like someone put a chair cushion on my head and told me to balance it on top until it falls off. And the funny part is they always ride above my ears and so - on top of it not fitting - I don't look 'cool' at all. ...more like that dorky guy who pretends to be an adventurer in the land of suburbia with a chair cushion on his head asking for directions....probably with a fried egg stuck somewhere in my hair...
But this is what I envision myself looking like when I work outside.
And it all starts this time of the year.

What is it about March that gets my Mojo working? My testosterone boiling, and my ability to see a weed in my garden a mile away? SPRING!!!

Getting into such a great groove of anticipating what is going to be happening with our weather, our soil and planning on whatever changes we are going to make is one of the items I get most excited about, especially now that we have decided not to ever grow tomatoes again. I am free of worrying about those damn tomato worms eating my plants bare in a days time. Ha! I will instead spend my time growing herbs and weirdo vegetables that I use a lot at home, and that I can't find better from the store or the Farmers Markets.
Free I tell you!!!
I remember my friend Michelle from Sleepy Hollow nursery (we miss that place) telling us how they would always sell twice as many tomatoes because of the fickle weather we experience: you know - those extremely Spring-like days in February and March that make a gardener just go out and plant their tomato plants, only to have a massive frost mid-March or April that would wipe out their baby plants. So she told us people would come back and buy the same tomatoes sometimes three times in one season, because WE MUST PLANT!!!
But me? I am free of the tomato bug!!!! I want to instead, plant Ghost Chiles' Ghost Chilijust to see if I can get them to grow. And maybe a new crop of Genovese Basil, chives and some of the new radishes we have eaten lately. Tomato-free!!! No head-aches. No anxiety. No having to kill those bugs that seem as big as my hand eating those damn plants. Not me.
Now.....as long as we are not overwhelmed with the attack of the Moles/Voles/Gophers, life will be good. If they tasted better we could eat them....but they don't.....so we can't.....damn.

We have had a great couple of last months thinking about what matters in life. We (Gary and I) realize that we should be taking more time to just bop around and do the kind of things that make us goofy/happy. And that list is a long list.....
We find that the older we get: we love our friends. Every time we are with them, we wonder why we can't spend more time with them. Then we remember: we work. We spend many hours at our business and thus not enough time 'playing'.
I want to play more.
Gary is definitely ready also.
Every time a commercial comes on the TV about a cruise, he says 'that could be us (salt on my open wound...). And then he always adds: "but you wouldn't like to do that would you??? You would rather work....."
I don't know if he tells me that to make me crazy or tells me that to think about what and where we should be doing next.

It's Spring and we talk this way every year.

I keep telling him that going to Camino sounds like a great adventure to me.....He on the other hand has his sites on Mexico.....
Damn man....
It's spring and everything I think about has its basis in the clouds. The clouds of Camino, my garden and Mexico.
It's Spring.
Things turn green this month. Things start to grow where we least expect them to grow. We let things sprout hoping - even though we did not plant them there - that they might just turn out to be a rare and exotic plant or vegetable or herb.....
And not the noxious weed that will ultimately take over my garden.
(NOTE: Have you ever noticed that every season, we have a 'new' weed that we have to endure? I wish they were the polite weeds that once I pulled one out they would be gone forever.....)
But no: I get the kind of weeds that seem to be clinging to the very foundation of my house and when I pull and pull them up, of course the main part of the root breaks off and I will have to wait until it re-spouts to find it again, usually after it has set a million seeds all over the yard....The Weed.....

And so you understand that the basis of Spring to me is a dithering in my mind that doesn't get any easier or better as I age....it is the time of the year when my mind goes all out ass-crazy with the things I want to get done. Quickly, with effort, and then relax from our efforts....this is fair.

Maybe they have a nice Mexican restaurant in Camino we could explore that serves really strong Margarita's for Gary.....

Ahhhh.....spring.......I need some wine.....

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Juan and His Bike
A Note to many of you from Cafe Luna: a couple of weeks ago, I sent out an email explaining about our friend Juan Correa who is doing a 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. He is doing this to benefit the the "Aids/LifeCycle" Project out of San Francisco. Juan is a great customer of ours and a personal friend who is committed to doing something with his talents.
A word of thanks to you who donated to his project. Gary and I are both humbled and over-whelmed with the outpouring of generosity that you provided for this event.
Thank you all. You have helped make this benefit happening for real...

If you are intersted in looking at this event, or how to help him achieve his goal, just double click the link below.

This Months Menu High-Lights.....


Rib Eye SteakNew This Menu: This menu, we are offering up some of our favorite customer requests, with a couple of spins on them, so come in and give them a try. Our nightly specials are different weekly, so call if you have questions, and let me know if you have specific requests.

Chicken Carbonara:
This was one of the dishes that made me love cheese and bacon. Pan-sauteed bits of chicken breast and bacon finished with Parmesan Cheese AND EGGS: we watched her take her fresh grated Parmesan cheese and mix it with just broken eggs and whip it up, and then pour it over the hot pasta and chicken and bacon to form this incredibly luscious sauce, and then flecked it with fresh parsley and/or basil. We will do the same....
Rib-Eye Steak Italian Style:
We take a huge 14 oz. rib eye, marinate it overnight in olive oil, garlic and fresh black pepper, charbroil it and then top it with a bit of roasted garlic infused olive oil.
Butternut Squash & Mushroom Lasagna:
Bright orange Lasagna??? Roasted butternut squash with mushrooms layered with mozzarella and ricotta cheese, fresh sage and baked until golden. Happy.
Wild Mushroom Risotto:
Arborio rice slow cooked with a mixture of domestic and wild mushrooms, white wine, shallots and basil, and finished with grape tomatoes and Mascarpone and Parmesan cheeses.
Pork Osso Bucco: Pork shanks, saw cut into thick slices, simmered in a red wine, tomato and vegetable broth until falling off the bone tender. Served topped with an orange gremolata on a bed of polenta.
This Months Recipe:
Black Bean Soup
Portuguese Black Bean Soup

(double-click above to get a printable copy of this recipe)

I love soups as you may know. I take the most time making soups, doing the "mise en place" (which is the secret to restaurant cooking you know...having everything cut up and ready before you start to do your actual cooking.....doesn't everyone have a prep cook at home???), the laying out of all utensils needed, planning my garnishes, and all the while watching it transform from sauteed vegetables, meats, etc. to this wonderful creamy heaven in a bowl.

This is one of my favorite recipes for soup, something that Garys mom taught me many years ago: building on your flavors. Layering your flavors and making sure each level is properly seasoned. Soup making is a study in patience.

This soup is wonderful just made, but like so many soups, really develops its flavors the next day. It also freezes well. I like this soup as a main meal with some nice rustic thick crusted bread. Go wild on your toppings....and enjoy...Portuguese Black Bean Soup

Sep 13, 2011

Hello All you Luna/tics:

September is here and the transitional period of our season is creeping up on us, even though our summer kind of came and went and came and went.....


Not complaining mind you, just wondering if our global warming is actually global cooling down here in El Doe County at least....


Have been having some slow nights here at the Cafe - talking to people who are feeling the long term effects of what is going on in the country with their finances, their worries, and their joys. It is intriguing to say the least...baffling, exciting, and depressing all at once.....who knows where our minds go....


My yard has now officially grown past its limits...it is a jungle that has just gotten to the tropical stage with me waiting for Tarzan to come bounding out of the trees screaming his yell (I can't think of him with his yell without thinking of Carol Burnett's yodeling .....) just looking for Jane.....


But......


Winter comes and I am left with a whole bunch of leaves, and branches, and spent flowers that are mere reminders of Tarzan's leafy home.....not to bad....


Many changes here in the old P-ville Burg.....Lost our Mayor, shops closing, shops opening, people coming and going....changes....I guess with our economy and climate, we know things will happen as such. It really is the same, just with different lipstick colors. We all get over one hump to encounter another hump, or joy as the case may be. I am ready for the joy humping I dream about...(joy-humping ??? what the Holy "H" is that?)


Food: why do we love it? What makes food the main priority of our daily cravings and what is it that we crave? It's funny how food can guide you through your hours, just thinking about how good a certain something will taste in your mouth, and how that taste will sustain all your hungers.....but think about it:::::WHAT IS IT WE CRAVE???


Is it salty tastes like potato chips or pretzels? Creamy tastes like Fettuccini Alfredo or Cream Brulee'? Spicy like Chipotle Chicken or a fire-hot salsa? Or just the comfortable taste of pot roast that someone else made for you (which always taste better to me....) When I look into a menu planning session, I wonder out loud usually::::What do I want to eat???


I am always one to lean towards slow simmered or braised meats or stews, even in the summer. I am also a lover of anything over an open fire (prawns in their shells is a perfect example of what fire does to food.....I'm hungry...) - you know:::that perfect Rib Eye Steak over the barbecue, or Chicken on a spit slow cooking over off-set flames to give that beautiful glaze on the skin that is crispy and succulent at the same time....or pork chops, rubbed with your favorite spices, put on the barbecue and then brushed with a marinade or glaze that when it hits the flame, just sends memories flooding into your mind.


What is it I crave???


Maybe it is the friends or family that come with those associations of the smells and the tastes that I crave. The fun we have with the right bunch of people sharing food, drink, jokes - stupid, funny, off-color, and the "I forgot the punch-line-but-it-doesn't-matter" because you are still laughing gawd knows why.... -who knows. Maybe it is the preparation of what we eat. Here at our house, Gary does most of the cooking. Me, I do mine at Cafe Luna. But I also know that menus for me are planned out, with precise ingredients, with my recipes, my herbs, produce, meats, seafoods, grains, etc. Gary can look in the vast condiment-laden refrigerator at home and find dinner. Me? I see 1/3 full containers of mustard, capers, chutney, orange juice, mayonnaise, ketchup, Balsamic, and pickled green beans, and martini olives.....Him? Dinner fixings.


The ying and yang of the everyday joys of dinner.....


_________________________________________________

So:::::


We have been able to offer our stuffed fresh figs, filled with Gorgonzola Dolce and wrapped in Prosciutto ham, and finished with a raspberry/Balsamic reduction sauce (great....now you know the whole recipe....good going Sherlock...). Figs are always this kind of erotic food for me: as a kid I remember seeing an old movie named "Tom Jones" with the actor Albert Finney. There is this one scene: the food scene that I will never, ever forget. It maybe the most erotic image that shaped my culinary adventures throughout my adult life: it is a scene where A Tom Jones (Albert Finney) and Mrs. Waters (Joyce Redman) sit across a table from each other and start to eat: meats, vegetables, breads, and then the fruits......well I am getting flustered just thinking about it. But let me say figs remind me about those first flushing's as an 11 year old young boy who experienced something he really did not understand, and has taken almost 50 years to ponder.


Over and Over and over....


Figs....


I love them. And now I need a drink....


(Below is a link to the famous wordless 3-1/2 minute food scene....kind of risque, so watch it if you will.....from the 1963 movie "Tom Jones")

Fine dining
"Tom Jones" Food Scene

But I digress.....


We are running a wonderful fresh Pacific Snapper dusted in one of my favorite spices: PimentĂłn from Spain. A paprika with such deep flavors and hints of memories that I love to cook with it. Pan sauteed and finished with a fresh roasted corn and cherry tomato relish. It is soothing and exciting at the same time (is that redundant?).....Try it...


We are also keeping a new dish for us: Filet Mignon with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola and Rosemary on a bed of Pasta. The fresh rosemary is really something to flavor: it pairs perfectly with the cheese and mushrooms...


Veal Milanese - pounded veal in breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, pan sauteed until golden topped with shaved Parmesan and a dollop of 'Salsa Rojo' - roasted peppers pureed with herbs and vinegar. Delicious.


Curried Seafood Stew - Yellow Thai style made with lemongrass, coconut milk and ginger, this has prawns, scallops, white fish and calamari simmered and served with Basmati rice. Mild, but can be made spicer for our heat lovers.


Jerk Pork - One of my personal favorites. If you haven't had "Jerk" before, it is a Jamacian dish made with hot chile peppers, many herbs and spices, a bit of vinegar and my secret: fresh pineapple. You have to understand it is a 'curry' in so many ways: herb and spice blends to make this incredible flavor that just permeates the dishes it is cooked in. Ours? Boneless pork pan-sauteed and then simmered in the 'jerk' sauce. One of the Hottest Hot-Head Dishes we prepare, and guess what? Gluten free!


We are featuring our Flank Steak this month, also our Prawns Ala Casa de la Sirena - large-in-shell-prawns, grilled over open flame that have been marinated in fresh lime and orange juices, garlic and mild chiles. Wonderful.


Desserts: Have you tried our Coconut Flan? Topped with caramel glazed banana's? Incredible. Also our Brulee's remain most popular, as is our Berry Cobblers. We are also running fresh Strawberry Shortcakes made with our orange zested shortcakes.


Come in. Take a load off your feet. Order a nice bottle of wine, an appetizer and dinner if you are so inclined. We would love to see all of you. Now that school is back in sessions, it will be nice to have you back in town on a regular basis.


Take care.


David and Gary at Cafe Luna



The Real Rants and Raves of this Month

State of Mind September 2011

I am not one to discuss politics but I started this month out on a ticked off level, kept writing about how ticked off I was, and decided to just put this four page rant here, for those of you who like to read things that get you mad.

So if you want to see how things work in my head, double click this link to hear my workings of my politics at this stage of my mind.

menu motif

and our By-The-Glass Selections Pairings

Just Double-click on the under-line above to preview or download

Double-click here for a down-loadable & printable page of

Dining Discount coupons
Here is our promotional plan for this month. These are available to only you, our customers who have signed up for our e-mails.

#1. On Wino Wednesday,all full bottle wines are 30% off the list price. Wino Wednesdays!!!.....Yahoo!!!!!
(Does not work with by-the-glass offerings)

#2. BYOB Thursdays! On Thursday nights, diners wishing to bring in their own bottle of wine getting one free bottle corkage per table. That alone will be a $15.00 savings. Please don't bring in wines on our list though.....how gauche! Call us first if you have a question......does not include holiday evenings!

#3. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights 1/2 off dinner coupons. Buy first dinner
at regular price, second dinner is half off the menu price; limit 2 coupons per table.
You must bring in the attached coupon.
Not valid on Special Holiday Nights.

Skirt Stead

This Months Recipe


Cuban Steak with a Fresh


Tomatillo Salsa


This is a keeper. Skirt steak or Flank steak, marinated overnight, barbecued, sliced and served with this wonderful salsa shouts "SUMMER" all year long. What to drink with this? Beer! or a nice local Barbera would be heaven.